Dragons and Shadows: Lurking Evil
by Elsa the Night Fury
Summary: Evil lurks around the corner, and Beach City's in danger. An evil force is killing and destroying everything in its path. A knight and his powerful shadow dragon are heading straight to Beach City with one goal: Destroy the Crystal Gems and take over the world. Will the Gems be able to battle an army of dragons? What happens when he threatens to kill Lapis? (ON HIATUS)
1. Shape Shifting Practice

_**Summary: Evil lurks around the corner, and Beach City's in danger. An evil force is killing and destroying everything in its path. A knight and his powerful shadow dragon are heading straight to Beach City with one goal: Destroy the Crystal Gems and take over the world. Will the Gems be able to battle an army of dragons? What happens when he reveals Lapis Lazuli and threatens to kill her? What happens when the Gems find out their home planets are being attacked? **  
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_**Deep in the canyons below, millions of miles away from Beach City…**_

Roses, Sunflowers, and Daisies…all crisped into ashes. All the flowers in the giant field vanished, not a single sign of life to be seen. The sky was bizarrely a dusky, dark color. Lighting flickered from cloud to cloud, thunder deeply rumbling in the far distance. Every organism was lifeless. Butterflies, coyotes, Mountain Lions, Rattlesnakes, Bald Eagles, and much more species were all scattered around the field. Not a single movement came from them; their bodies were either crisped to the bone, snapped in half, or crushed brutally.

Something large in the distance slowly walked on the field, proceeding to walk to the other side of the dead landscape. Blood was splattered all over its body, making its shadowy color darken. The creature had long, thin, razor sharp talons. With each step it took, they clawed against the mud, sinking below the surface. The creature's eyes were slits the color of red. It had gigantic wings, with a wingspan of thirty meters.

Someone else was with it, too. He held great power, force and energy no one has ever seen before. No one has defeated him. And no one will.

And they were heading straight to Beach City.

"Aww! That one is so adorable!" Steven stated, tapping on the crystal clear glass in front of him. He pointed at a small kitten with big green eyes, and it looked at him tentatively. It meowed quietly and lightly tapped the screen, twitching its ears and ruffling its small, fluffy tail. Amethyst chuckled, taking a closer peek at the kitten.

"It kind of looks like me when I'm a cat," she replied as the feline turned its small head to look at her. Then it moved from its spot and started pawing at the glass where Amethyst's face was.

"Let's get back to the house, Steven," Amethyst said, turning around and starting to walk towards the beach.

"Alright!" The boy agreed, stepping away from the glass and running over to the other Gem to catch up.

The sun was high in the sky, its rays baking the sandy ground cement. It was another ordinary day for the citizens of Beach City. Birds chirped and hopped from branch to branch, singing messages to each other as they went about. The ocean was as calm as a settled leaf…the waves rocked back and forth constantly.

A few minutes later, the two Gems were already climbing up the stairs to the house. Pelicans watched them from above with curious eyes.

"Pearl!" Steven called as he slammed the door open, "we're back!" He walked inside, glancing around the room for the mentioned Gem. He noticed there wasn't anyone around.

"I guess she went off on a mission," the boy concluded, tapping his chin as Amethyst closed the door behind her. The purple Gem shook her head and walked over to him, glancing around the room as well.

"If she went out on a mission, she would have told us, and Garnet would too. And I don't think it's a solo mission, because she rarely goes on those," Amethyst corrected, gazing at the warp pad. "She's around somewhere, though."

She started walking towards the Temple Door. "I'll be in the Temple," she said as her gem glowed, causing the door to open apart and reveal her room.

"What?" Steven said, crossing his arms. "Then I will be all alone," he sadly said.

"Sorry, buddy, I have things to take care of. Play with Lion," she stated before she walked inside, and then the door closed shut.

Steven sighed heavily, not liking the silence that flowed through the house. He turned around and headed towards the door.

Steven stepped outside, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight. Stepping over to the edge of the porch, he smiled happily when he spotted Lion lying down on the sand near the shore. The furry animal was licking its body, watching the waves silently.

In a few moments, the young boy reached the furry creature.

"Lion!" The boy greeted, patting the animal's head. "I bet you missed me. Hey, do you know where Pearl and Garnet are?" Lion blinked at his friend, tilting his head. He shook his head, his mane waving around his neck.

"Hmm…" Glancing up at the sky, Steven watched the pelicans flap around the sky wildly, squawking and calling to each other. They were awfully loud in the silence that crept on the beach. Except for the sound of waves crashing against each other, which at least added a bit of relaxation. The half Gem wondered what those birds do all day other than causing trouble and noise.

He sighed as he laid down against Lion's warm side. "You know, Lion…I wish I could shape shift the right way." The horrible memory of his cat fingers clouded his mind, and he shivered. "You have no idea how awesome shape shifting can be. If I want to shape shift, I need to practice. I think I should practice now, while I wait for Pearl and Garnet!"

Standing up, the boy started thinking of random animals. There were hundreds of them, but so little that he knew of.

"A dog…a snake…a lizard…" He muttered, tapping his chin in thought. After a few moments of thinking, his eyes widened as an idea popped into his mind.

"Aha!" He said, snapping his fingers and whipping around to face the pink creature next to him. Lion jumped in surprise, stared at Steven, and took a deep breath.

"I know what animal I'll shape shift into!" Steven said in excitement. "I'll shape shift into a _dragon_! A tiny dragon! It's gonna be so cool!"

Lion blinked at him, as if he wasn't that excited as his friend was.

Closing his eyes, the boy took a deep breath and concentrated, focusing on the image of the creature. The pink lion stood up, watching him curiously. He blinked in surprise as his friend's gem started glowing brightly, and he squinted his eyes. Suddenly, the boy's body shone a bright white. His shape started to change into something smaller and more reptile like.

Lion stared wide-eyed at the small red dragon in front of him.

Steven snapped open his eyes, and gasped, noticing Lion was much taller than him. He looked down and a huge smile formed on his snout. He had turned into a small dragon, no bigger than a full grown goat. His scales were a deep red, the same color as his shirt. His underbelly had creamy colored scales, and a row of black frills ran down from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. A triangle black shape was settled at the top of his head, and he had two big horns on the sides of his head, followed by smaller ones. The tip of his tail was shaped like a triangle.

"OH MY GOSH!" Steven barked, bouncing up and down in excitement. "I'M A DRAGON! I'M A DRAGON! Can you believe it, Lion?! I SHAPE SHIFTED INTO A DRAGON!" He bounced around, kicking up sand into the air. Lion sneezed as sand entered his nose, and he stood up, watching the joyful little dragon bounce around excitedly.

The little reptile bared his teeth, his teeth glinting brightly against the sunlight. He lifted his paws, flexing his black sharp talons in amusement. "This is so awesome! Oh, I gotta go tell Amethyst!" He breathed, and ran towards the hill to the house.


	2. Sudden Control

Steven padded up to the door and with a strong push, it opened and he bounced inside. His red, slim tail was a blur as it wagged in joy, and he crawled over to the Temple door. He placed his front paws against the cool surface and he tilted his head.

"Amethyst!" He called, tracing a talon along the surface. He slid his paws down until they landed onto the wooden floor. His tail thumped wildly against the floor. He turned his head around to stare at it and frowned. Wow, he really was that excited.

The frown erased from his face as a smile took its place. Of course he was happy! He finally shape shifted properly!

Noticing it'll take a while before the purple Gem would come, he decided to test things out.

"Roar!" The red dragon called, scratching his talons against the floor. He moved into a battle position and lashed his tail, trying to look scary and tough. He tried to make realistic dragon noises, but it was difficult to do so. Huffing in annoyance, the red young reptile sat down, flicking his tail back and forth, his spiky back facing the Temple Door.

Suddenly, purple mists formed in the central of the door, and it separated apart, revealing Amethyst walking out of her room.

"Hey, Steven! I-" She started. She stared wide eyed at the red creature sitting a few feet away from her.

Jumping up in excitement, Steven whirled around and smiled white teeth at her. "Amethyst!" He breathed, jumping up and down.

"Whoa," she said, squinting her eyes as she smirked. "Steven, is that you?"

"Yeah! I shape shifted into a dragon! Isn't this awesome?!" He turned in circles, wondering what to do. "Man, I gotta tell the other Gems! But they aren't here…!" He complained, pushing his forearms and back legs outwards so he would slip onto the floor on his belly. He sighed, sticking out his pink forked tongue.

"Congrats, Steven! You finally shape shifted. I'm surprised you turned into a dragon. And you know what's even better?" Amethyst said happily, crossing her arms, looking down at him.

"What?" He asked with a smile, lifting his head up to get a better view of her.

"I love dragons!" She said, nodding her head.

"Cool! What's it like for you?" He asked, rolling onto his feet as he looked up at Amethyst eagerly.

"It's very cool. And by very cool, I mean epic. You get to breathe fire and fly and stuff…"

The short Gem took a step toward the dragon and picked him up. She was surprised that he didn't weigh as much.

"Huh…" Amethyst said, squinting and narrowing her eyes in confusion as she turned the dragon around in her hands, as if observing him.

"What?" Steven said, curling his tail inwards.

"You don't have wings…strange." The purple Gem placed him back down onto the floor, which he spun around in surprise and glanced up at her with wide eyes.

"What? I don't have wings? How did I miss that? No, that's not fair! I want wings!" Steven whined, spinning and craning his neck to peek at his wingless red back. He had thought he had wings, but didn't really paid any attention to the fact that he didn't. Perhaps they were tiny. But if they were, they would have been useless for flying.

"It's alright, you'll get wings eventually with more practice," the other Gem reassured, grinning at the panicked reptile.

Steven suddenly stopped in his tracks, forgetting about the thought of wings. His eyes narrowed into slits, and he lifted his head slightly, as if sniffing the air. His tail flopped onto the ground with a thud, rattling slightly. He slowly craned his neck to glare up at Amethyst.

Amethyst blinked in confusion, a creepy feeling running down her back. "Uh…Steven? What are you doin', buddy?" She asked uneasily, taking a step back. Gems who turn into dragons for the first time don't usually act like this...What the heck was he doing? The way he was staring at her felt…odd.

A low hiss sounded from the little animal. The corners of his mouth pulled back, revealing his shiny, sharp teeth and his forked, long tongue.

Suddenly, he crouched low and leaped into the air, claws stretched toward the Gem.


End file.
